THF- AI\. T GALLF-I\.IF-5 Latter-Day Impressionist I SUPPOSE that if one were to judge the various schools solely by the number of their ad- herents, Impression- ism would still be by far the most popular. i ' One has only to visit ! any of the National Academy's annuals '<c tu find it spread, in pure or modified form, all over the walls. But a painting ." style is more than mere technique; it's a way of thinking and an outlook on life, too, and these are harder to simulate. One of the few contemporary artists who not only paint in the manner of the Impressionists but seem actually to be- long among them is Raphael Soyer, now having his first une-man showing in five years, at the Associated American Art- ists. This is not to suggest that Soyer is unduly imitative. There is a strong trace of Degas in his work, to be sure (see his "Seamstress" and "After the Bath," a study of a semi-nude girl, in the collec- tion), but this is not an influence in the usual sense; it is nearer tu my thought to say that in his approach to his subjects he practically is Degas, or a modernized, version, and that his style fits naturally into the channels of expression the older man created. Soyer is, at any rate, an extremely capable and sensitive painter. One of the great virtues of the true Impressionists was their artistic honesty. Their technique of forthright, undis- torted reporting was a part of it, and this affected many other aspects of their work. One minor result can be seen in their treatment of the human figure. Their nudes, for exam pIe, did not mas- querade as Roman or Greek goddesses in arbitrarily graceful postures. The Im- pressionists sought reasonableness and truth, and so the nudity had to be ex- plained and the pose justified, and the whole had to be embedded in ordinary, observable daily life-with the result that Degas, when he painted nudes, painted them as bathers, as did Cézanne, and Renoir in his early days. Soyer shows this same honesty, not only in the way his figure studies are related tu reality but in the care he takes to estab- t:: lish the proper mood for them. Dancers, models, shopgirls dressing or undressing -these are his commonest subjects, and if at times he dwells too much on their wistfulness, there is no gainsaying the ,t 61 "",- Q ."., ' t ; , F:X"1 "fi{:"" ::}:......, t'!f::l ;1tl 5 w .- .:.. ..,..;:::;:, : : .,} : :l t:,:::"-; :",: ,:,:: .. :,'. ..:::::: :/ ::::::. .. "Ñ:-.:::.-.::.: ,' , -c'.:: >.: :: : :::::.' .':- , r-- ..Pî: . t;:: '1=:::ü /" (.>. ," 1 m: f . ? , t . ; . ' o ; . ; . :' : : . : : . : . i , 1 " , .'1 ::'j I;. 0 0<,: t:f L! : : : ;.I:;::::::.::I:: ],; rr , . "'1 i ....:.:. ':'" .;:.:.::: ...." '...::. i,;(,:::: :;': -'9'..,., .':: .x-:- """ o:,.':t.::,..':: ::-..: ,".""'.l-'.^ . . d >':SOØ:: :::.....,;: , .-\" >;.'. '$f,t #é: r.: ;" :;' .:;,,:;...... ,':'.':' ::::":' ,":::::.::::::::;.;.... .:::: t:;; h:: :,::., :.: . Jr' <: <.x '...' ":':::'.:::;:'i :;:.,,: : - $.:;:E:f,::-. . "::::':'- 8 \\ >>:;;.:: :.,: :;:,;:, " ?M J }:::"'.. ,: :;", ' i.Q:: : : . '::' .r. < if" r 1 :::;:::,:..:::;: :: ;; ;d! ;ii{;'::it:::::;;t ;::If:{/f:::;: :::':':'.:"::::: .:,:::,::::::;:: <t . i " I ':::;:';i .! , '. ::::k ...- . t ' . ';,..'j : It's difficult to divide the seasons at Sun Valley, America's favorite year 'round playground. Imagine, if you can, skiing as late as July at nearby Boulder Basin. And on the same day enjoying fishing or other summer sports activities such as swim- ming . . . golf. . . tennis or ice skating on an artificial outdoor rink. Y ou'}l find them all in the healthful, scenic setting of Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains. * For further information or reservations, write to w. P. Rogers, General Manager, Sun Valley, Idaho, or Union Pacific Railroad, Room 1207) Omaha 2, Nebraska